Traditional baby showers can be boring — yes, I said it. Celebrating the impending birth of a baby is a big deal, but your party doesn't necessarily require a registry full of baby gear that will never be used (I'm looking at you, wipes warmer), or yet another round of Guess Mommy's Tummy Size.
Want to host a baby shower with a twist? Check out the following 3 trendy new ways to celebrate baby's upcoming birth with style.
A Blessingway
Also known as a "Mother Blessing," a blessingway is nothing new. The Native American tradition has been around for centuries, but has become trendy in more mainstream circles in recent years. While baby showers typically focus on "showering" expectant parents with items they will need for baby, a blessingway focuses instead on honoring and supporting a woman as she makes the transition into motherhood.
Typical blessingway activities might include belly painting or casting, lighting candles, or stringing beads that guests have brought into a necklace for the mother-to-be to wear during labor. For more information about planning a blessingway, visit Mother Rising: The Blessingway Journey Into Motherhood.
A Gender-Reveal Party
Gender-reveal parties are a hot trend right now. At a pregnant woman's 20-week ultrasound, the doctor or tech will write baby's gender on a slip of paper, without telling the expectant parents. Family and friends are then invited to the big gender-reveal party, complete with a cake that is either pink or blue inside. When the expectant couple cuts into the cake, everyone finds out baby's sex together.
For more tips on hosting your own gender-reveal party, check out Fun Ideas for A Gender-Reveal Party at Yahoo! Shine.
A "Dadchelor" Party
Traditional baby showers tend to focus on mothers, but more and more fathers are getting in on the pre-baby celebration. At so-called "dadchelor" parties, men get to party like bachelors one last time before assuming the demanding responsibilities of fatherhood. Sometimes guests bring diapers and the partying is subdued; other times these parties involve Vegas, strippers, and a group of grown men desperately trying to live out their Hangover fantasies.
Personally, I'm ambivalent about this one. Sure, men have a right to their own pre-baby rituals, particularly as gender roles are changing rapidly and fathers are becoming more involved in day-to-day parenting. But on the other hand, what pregnant woman wants to sit through a boring baby shower sipping a virgin daquari while her baby daddy is off pretending to be Bradley Cooper? I suspect very few.
Do you enjoy traditional baby showers, or do you prefer one of these alternatives? And what do you think about dadchelor parties? Yea or nea?
